Thursday, February 17, 2011

That's Hot Yoga:

No not more celebrity news, today I did my first session of hot yoga, or Bikram Yoga. Hot yoga is a set of 26 yoga posses done in a heated room over a 90 minute session. It is said that doing yoga in a heated room helps to increase flexibility, restore muscles and increase cardiovascular strength. My experience with Hot Yoga was much different than some of the other yoga classes that I have taken. I am still a beginner at yoga and have only done the intro classes and a few Vinyasa Flow classes which to me are quite challenging, but had a much more relaxed feel to it and ended with a meditative portion of the class that really relaxed you.

Hot yoga is still challenging but it a much different way. The instructor was great and really pushed you to always be focusing on your form and getting the most out of each position. The heat was not too bad though I did do 6.5 miles of hill repeats just before the class and was slightly dehydrated to start the class, which I would not recommend. A normal Bikram yoga class is done in 105 degree temperatures, but this class was done around 95 degree temps, but you still sweat a lot and do become dehydrated. Though you do not do as many balancing posses and strengthening posses it is still a challenge and I am sure I'll be a bit sore tomorrow.

I really enjoyed my first hot yoga experience and will definitely be back to try again. How it will help me run 100 miles still remains to be seen. I do know that several ultra runners do participate in hot yoga classes so there must be some benefit to it.

2 comments:

  1. You should definitely keep going...it gets a lot easier after a couple of weeks.

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  2. I am definitely liking it and I think it will help me with my running. I am starting to get the hang of it but still far from a Yoga master.

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